Brighton's Charlie Sharp (8) heads in the winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Walled Lake Central in the first round of district soccer play on Monday, Oct. 15, 2018.(Photo: Timothy Arrick/For the Livingston Daily)

He’s done it in nearly every soccer game for Brighton this season, often in clutch situations.

But there was no guarantee.

Nothing is guaranteed once the state tournament begins. A hot goaltender, a strange bounce of the ball, one perfectly placed shot — any of them can crush the dreams of a championship contender in single-elimination soccer.

After coming agonizingly close on several scoring opportunities, Sharp did what he always seems to do, coming up with a huge goal when Brighton needed it.

He headed in a corner kick by Colin Adam with 23:20 left in the game, giving the eighth-ranked Bulldogs a 1-0 victory over Walled Lake Central in a first-round Division 1 district game Monday at Sloan Field.

“Obviously, you get frustrated that you’re not putting them away,” Sharp said. “Our coaches just keep encouraging us throughout the game. They just keep telling us we’re going to get one. We have full faith in our team. We know if we keep working hard, we’re going to get one along the way. Luckily, we did today.”

There was a little bit of luck involved in Sharp’s goal. Then again, a player with 24 goals in 19 games tends to make his own breaks.

Adam sent a kick from the right corner to the front of the net, where Sharp got inside position six yards out and went high to head the ball over goalie Jackson Bowers and off the bottom of the crossbar. When the ball came down, Bowers took a step inside the net to grab it on the bounce, hoping to persuade the officials the ball didn’t cross the line. There was some momentary confusion before the Bulldogs could celebrate.

“There was some confusion between the (assistant ref) and the center ref,” Sharp said. “Then, of course, the other team’s going to vouch it doesn’t go in; we’re going to vouch it does go in. It’s just a little bit of controversy there, but I’m 100 percent sure it did go in.”

Walled Lake Central coach Joel Sharp said he was told the linesman called it a goal, but didn’t raise his flag.

Regardless, he knew it would be difficult to keep Brighton’s top scorer off the board all night.

“You give him a little bit of space, he took that space,” the Vikings’ coach said. “I was telling the boys pretty much that was six inches. It barely gets in under the crossbar, just gets across that line. That’s the difference in this game.

“They gave everything they had. That’s a good team and they’re well-coached. Boy, do they move off the ball well. Hat’s off to my boys for playing the way they did. We had our opportunities at the end.”

Brighton goalie Hagen Carriere was barely tested most of the game, but he had to make two big stops on free kicks by Alexander Sayeg and KC Fegely in the final 21 minutes.

Brighton's Travis Huffman plays the ball during a 1-0 victory over Walled Lake Central in a first-round district soccer game on Monday, Oct. 15, 2018.(Photo: Timothy Arrick/For the Livingston Daily)

Walled Lake Central made the state championship game last season, losing 1-0 to Detroit Catholic Central, but heavy graduation losses took a toll on the Vikings. They finished 10-8-1 with only a handful of players who had a role in that tournament run.

“It’s why we play the games, regardless of which team is billed to be the better team or should win or what have you,” Brighton coach Mark Howell said. “You see upsets all the time. Walled Lake Central was far better than we anticipated. They gave us everything we could handle tonight. We were real fortunate to get the goal we did. As time wears on, everybody’s emotions kind of start to ratchet up and the nervousness. We were starting to feel that pressure.”

Brighton (12-3-4) is 7-0-2 in its last nine games, allowing only four goals over that stretch. The Bulldogs advance to the district semifinals at 5 p.m. Wednesday against Milford at Lakeland. The winner will play Hartland or Lakeland in the district championship game at 11 a.m. Saturday at Lakeland. Lakeland beat Howell, 8-0.

“Our coach keeps saying we’re only guaranteed one more game,” Sharp said. “Us seniors are even looking at it at a whole new level, because it could be our last game playing together at the high school level. Intensity is definitely getting ramped up. You could see it in the second half when it was still tied 0-0. We really wanted to get one there. We’re taking it one game at a time and just surviving and advancing.”